Bedbug Infestations Have Increased Exponentially in Recent Years

With the exponentially increasing volume of domestic and commercial travel in the United States every year, the bedbug population has gotten a chance to spread all the way to the farthest reaches of the country: from border to border and from coast to coast. What was once a problem exclusively for cosmopolitan eastern cities like New York and Boston has now become the problem of even the most rural of communities.

Pest control professionals in the American southwest, for example, have been focusing a large portion of their attention and resources on Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas bedbug removal. The real problem, however, is that the average homeowner is unfamiliar with the identification of bedbugs in their own home. This may result in an individual inadvertently ignoring the problem or even refusing to admit that there is one until bedbug populations have reached critical levels and a solution must absolutely be found.

In the following paragraphs I’ll endeavor to shed some light on the most common attributes of the bedbug as well as the myriad ways in which they can be eradicated from the home. It’s important to note, though, that the surest way to ensure the removal of these pests is to contact your local pest control professionals.

It’s been recently discovered that bedbugs can’t climb up smooth vertical surfaces like glass and some plastics. However, scientists conducting an observational study on bedbug behavior were shocked to discover that, when confronted with a smooth, Pyrex glass bowl, a bedbug had seemingly little issue climbing up and out. It was later concluded that the bowl might have been covered in dust particles which the bedbug might have been able to use as a foothold, or that the glass had minute fissures in its surface that were undetectable with the naked eye. That said, it’s important to keep your pitfall-style traps clean and reasonably smooth.

Bedbugs aren’t the fastest insects in the world, but when its prey is an immobile, sleeping human being, speed is hardly a necessity. Bedbugs can move at an average speed of about four feet per minute: that’s about a twenty-two hour mile for those interested.

Some recent research suggests that, while bedbugs are surprisingly hardy at low temperatures, they’re fairly defenseless against even the mildest heat treatment. Most studies agree that temperatures as low as 113 degrees Fahrenheit can fry bedbugs. Likewise, temperatures of about 120 degrees Fahrenheit can kill bedbugs, at all stages of development, in about a minute.

However, due to their tiny size—and the even smaller size of their eggs—it’s easy for bedbugs to hide in the folds and stitching of fabric, meaning that getting rid of them might take much more muscle than running the casual heat lamp across the surface of your bed. By the time you notice bedbugs in your surroundings, they have already so deeply embedded themselves in your upholstered furniture, mattresses and pillows, an exterminator’s knowledge and experience is going to be required to evict the surreptitious creatures.

Cantu Pest Control is proud to be the first company in Texas to offer a Green Shield Certified Service. Our Dallas bedbug exterminators are excited to offer Green Shield Certified pest services to our customers in search of a more prevention-based solution to their pest removal and on-going pest management needs while minimizing the use of pesticides.

If bedbugs have made unwanted appearances around your home, call Cantu Pest Control at 972-885-3618(Dallas and Fort Worth areas) or 713-999-3495(Houston area) and schedule an appointment today with one of our friendly, experienced bedbug removal experts.

Mice Spread Harmful Bacteria Wherever They Roam

There are usually a variety of ways to tell if mice have made their way inside your home; once they’re inside, it’s only a matter of time before they start causing all kinds of property damage and, as they begin to multiply, present a number of frightening health risks. In recent years, for example, mouse populations have flourished in various parts of Texas, such as the Dallas and Fort Worth areas.

As they try to seek out spaces for nests that aren’t likely to be disturbed by humans, micewill often traverse dusty attics and seldom-used basements, meaning that if a mouse were to scamper across a particularly dusty patch of floor, they’ll likely leave behind their telltale footprints.

Micehave a unique bone structure, making their tracks fairly easily recognizable—as long as you have an idea of what you’re looking for. They have a four-toed front paw and a five-toed back paw, which you’ll often see in conjunction with myriad tail-prints. That said, your local mouse removal professional will be able to tell at a glance what species and how many mice you may be up against.

Likewise, the sudden abundance of holes in various surfaces like furniture and walls are a clear indication of the presence of mice. Their ever-growing teeth need to be constantly used—much like a beaver’s—so they don’t do any undue harm to themselves.

That said, mice can chew through almost any surface and, given enough time, they tend to do just that; unchecked mouse populations can present serious economic repercussions, as the damage that they do during the course of the infestation will doubtless need to be repaired.

Moreover, mice have been known to present serious fire hazards, as electrical wires rank among the items most frequently defaced. Apart from furniture, wiring, and walls, teeth and nail markings might also appear along baseboards or wooden paneling close to the floor, as well as the edges of frequently travel routes. Mice will often gnaw through boxes, both wooden and cardboard, as untended boxes tend to provide easy access to hiding and nesting places.

On that note, it’s very common to find that mice have been hard at working boring holes into insulation in between walls and in attics. These holes or tunnels may be indications of possible nesting areas, and are often characterized by a lack of dust and/or cobwebs, albeit with an abundance of droppings in the near vicinity.

The characteristic scent that’s produce by a mouse’s urine is the factor that finally convinces homeowners to call in their pest control professionals, although by the time the odor becomes offensive, the mouse population in the area in question has been able to propagate unchecked for quite some time.

If mice have made an unsightly appearance in your home, call Cantu Pest Control at 972-885-3618(Dallas and Fort Worth areas) or 713-999-3495(Houston area) and schedule an appointment today with one of our friendly, experienced pest control experts.

The fire ant is definitely a pest control nuisance throughout Dallas / Fort Worth and an allergic threat via dermatitis and anaphylactic shock to millions of people. Even if you don’t have to pull out the epi-pen after being bitten, there is a certain unpleasant feeling to their sting. Thus, the best way to co-exist with fire ants is to know more about them. There are many do-it-yourself tricks to alleviating a fire ant problem; however, it is safer for you and your family to call your local Dallas pest control company for assistance and their professional recommendations.

First off, fire ants live in colonies that are social units containing several hundred to several thousand members. There are three subgroups within the colony: the workers, the reproductives, and the queens. The worker ants are the largest group in the colony and as their name suggests, they work for the good of the colony by foraging for food and building tunnels and mounds. The worker ants travel up to one hundred miles away foraging through tunnels and atop land for food to feed the colony. They forage day and night until temperature reach ninety-five degrees, at which point, they forage during the night only. The reproductives are a select group of male and female ants that have the ability to take flight and mate, later forming new colonies. The most well-known ant of the colony, the queen is very highly revered and protected as she is the life line of the colony. There can actually be between ten to one hundred queens in a single colony.

Life Cycle

When the reproductives take flight, mate, and settle in to build their own colonies, their first mission is to lay and protect their many eggs. The egg hatches in to a soft white larva, looking much like a minute grub worm. The larva is helpless and dependent upon the workers for food and protection as it grows and later begins the molting process. In the next to last molt, the larva transforms into a pupa and begins forming legs and often wings. Finally, the pupa turns into the adult ant. It is at this point that the new ant will either begin as a sterile worker or begin helping in quest of reproduction and new colony formation.

The reproductives that began the colony end up becoming queens of the fire ant colony. The queen’s primary job is to reproduce, lying up to one thousand, five hundred eggs per day. Unlike the worker, the queen’s life span can range up to seven years. The mature ant colony can contain up to a hundred queen ants and span over three feet in diameter.

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